As the lunch bell echoes through the halls, a bustling crowd of students spills into the cafeteria, eager to grab their midday meal. Students have many options with steaming trays of today’s main dish, the ever-popular pizza and a colorful array of fruits and vegetables. This is the food they see daily, but there is much more than “meats” the eye.
“The kitchen staff at East knows that local items taste better than processed products or produce that travels a long distance,” kitchen manager Rachel Bowden said.
Since 2020, Gretna Public Schools (GPS) has partnered with local businesses such as Raikes Beef and Lone Tree Foods, but this information isn’t well-known to staff or students.
“I have noticed before that we have apples that come from Vala’s or something, I thought that was cool,” junior Madisyn Clarke Wisnieski said.
Apples are just one food provided locally. Many of the lunch meals come from all around Nebraska, from meat, fresh produce, milk and even bread. The raw ground beef and steak burger patties come from Raikes Beef, located in Ashland. Unprocessed chicken cuts like drumsticks, thighs and plain chicken breasts come from Smart Chicken in Waverly. The milk comes from Hiland Dairy outside of Omaha and the bread comes from Rotellas Bakery.
“We hope to grow our Farm to School program,” Bowden said. “The program itself helps expand students’ taste buds, open them up to new items and provide the highest quality meals as they grow and learn.”
GPS also partners with local farmers like Lone Tree Foods, Pekarek’s Produce, Abie Vegetable People and Grandview Farms to get fresh produce seasonally.
“We started with Gretna Public Schools lunch program probably four or five years ago,” Ryan Pekarek, of Pekarek’s Produce said. “We like selling to schools because it keeps our sales strong in August to October when sometimes farmers’ markets can slow down.”
Having fresh, seasonal produce can have some challenges, though. As the seasons change, the ability for certain foods to be grown and distributed also changes, leading to a shift in what can be served at lunch.
At the beginning of the school year, students saw more cucumbers, yellow peppers, broccoli, watermelon and butternut squash. Now that it’s getting colder, new food items are hitting the lunch menu.
“It’s [produce] all seasonally available so we won’t have warm weather crops like cucumbers, melons and zucchini available locally again until next summer,” Bowden said. “Now we will be seeing more sweet potatoes, beets, pinto beans and winter squash.”
While lunches are sourced locally across the district and around Nebraska, what makes the school unique is the staff that prepares it.
“Here at East we serve more [options] than most buildings [in the district] because we like the options and with my culinary background and the rest of the kitchen staff’s skills,” Bowden said. “We are more familiar with the possibilities of local ingredients. We also enjoy cooking and trying new items that can be served around the district, so we often are the test kitchen for new recipes or ingredients before they are used at other schools.”
Bowden and the kitchen staff are proud of their commitment to using fresh, local ingredients, which they believe enhances the quality of the meals. By sourcing meals locally, the school not only supports nearby farmers but also enhances the quality and freshness of student lunches. This initiative serves as a reminder of the impact that choosing local can have, both in taste and in supporting the community.
